From spam to spit

You didn't really think that VoIP would free us from telemarketers, did you?

New Scientist reports:

A new plague of unwanted messages threatens internet users, according to a US company. Spam and spim - spam by instant messenger – are about to be joined by "spit" - spam over internet telephony. Qovia, based in Frederick, Maryland, have recently filed two patent applications for technology to thwart spit.

There aren't any documented incidents of "spit" to date, but one security expert says that's simply because there aren't enough VoIP users yet to make it worthwhile.

Paper sleuths

We've been hearing from a lot of forensic document experts the past couple of weeks, because of the controversy surrounding the alleged Bush National Guard memos. The New York Times takes a closer look at this scientific specialty, which is common enough to have an official occupational description: questioned-document examiners.

Ordinarily, document examiners' cases are far more mundane than the CBS case. Examiners are hired by lawyers, police departments and individuals to analyze contested wills, determine whether medical or insurance records have been altered and authenticate handwriting and signatures in letters and contracts.

Document examination, like virtually every other line of work these days, has been fundamentally changed by computing. But many in the field say that digital technology has created nearly as many problems for them as it has solved. ... But document examiners have several counterweapons that can help detect sophisticated digital cut-and-paste forgeries.

It's science!

These are some of the more interesting science headlines from the past few days which I haven't noted previously:

• Study shows dogs able to smell cancer (AP)
• Likelihood of suicide 'determined at birth' (BBC News)
• MIT works to power computers with spinach (AP)
• Seismic surveys may kill giant squid (New Scientist)
• The silly science season (MSNBC.com's Alan Boyle previews this year's Ig Nobel Prize contest)

The 'CSI' Effect

National Geographic explains how the "CSI" Effect Is Mixed Blessing for Real Crime Labs:

The popularity of television shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Files ... has turned millions of viewers into real-life science sleuths.

The phenomenon has reached into both classrooms and courtrooms. Universities have seen a dramatic increase in applications to forensic science programs. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are facing greater pressure from science-savvy juries to present sophisticated forensic evidence in court.

(Via Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log.)

The human factor

Our best efforts notwithstanding, software is still no solution for human stupidity or carelessness. And yet, companies faced with data security issues routinely turn to high-tech solutions yet skimp on improving training and employee awareness, according to a new Ernst & Young report. CNet News.com has the highlights.

Best and worst sounds

The folks at Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab ran a study to identify what sounds people love and hate the most. You can listen to the top three on each list here (they're in .wav format) or read details about the study in this article.

Note: Those sitting around you may not appreciate hearing the most hated sounds without warning.

Politics and news portals

iPod owners' paranoia notwithstanding, can software algorithms be biased? How about when it comes to picking which political stories to feature on a news portal? J.D. Lasica raises that intriguing question in Online Journalism Review.

In newspaper newsrooms, editors often go to great lengths to achieve a semblance of balance in coverage of the two major candidates for president. Some count the story inches devoted to both men. Others make sure that photo size and placement don't favor one over the other. Journalistic fairness demands equal treatment.

But what are the rules for online search engines, where millions of users are turning for their daily news fix? Does evenhanded coverage apply in the bottomless news hole of cyberspace? Does having an editorial team or an automated program get you a better sweep of important news about the political candidates?

These are tricky questions. To their credit, Google News and Yahoo News agreed to pull back the curtain and explain how they acquire and display political news.

One particular point he addresses: why human-editor-free Google News seems to offer up so many links to alternative news sites when you check its John Kerry coverage.

Macs a good deal

Over at Cult of Mac, Leander Kahney notes "a weird shift in the media concerning the cost of Macs. Instead of the usual Macs are 'more expensive,' I read several times that Macs are suddenly 'more affordable.'"

So, it's not just my imagination ...

More from Kahney:

For a lot of tech writers (and consumers), price has always been the biggest sticking point when considering a Mac; it's the ultimate deal breaker. But I think we'll see "suprisingly affordable," or "cheaper than their competitors," more and more, and that it will play a very important role in Apple's continued resurrection.